Depop (Etsy Write-Down)
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Depop is a secondhand fashion marketplace founded in 2011 in Milan, Italy, and headquartered in London. Popular with Gen Z, it lets users buy and sell used and vintage apparel. At its peak the company employed around 1,000 people and was valued at $1.6 billion.
02 / Depop (Etsy Write-Down) FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Etsy's acquisition of Depop failed to pay off. Etsy paid a pandemic-era premium - about $1.625 billion in mid-2021, when online resale was booming - but post-pandemic demand for discretionary goods cooled and Depop's growth fell short of the expectations baked into the price. In its third-quarter 2022 results, Etsy took a $1.0 billion aggregate goodwill impairment on Depop and its Brazilian marketplace Elo7, effectively admitting it had overpaid by that amount. In 2026 Etsy sold Depop to eBay for $1.2 billion, $425 million less than it had paid, ending its 'House of Brands' experiment.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Depop was founded in Milan, Italy, as a secondhand fashion marketplace for Gen Z buyers and sellers.
- Acquired by Etsy
Etsy acquired Depop for approximately $1.625 billion, primarily in cash, betting on the pandemic-era resale boom.
- Goodwill write-down
Etsy recorded a $1.0 billion aggregate goodwill impairment on Depop and Elo7, reporting a net loss of $963.1 million for the quarter - an admission it had overpaid for the acquisitions.
- Sold to eBay
Etsy sold Depop to eBay for $1.2 billion, about $425 million less than the 2021 purchase price, closing out its 'House of Brands' strategy after also selling Elo7 and Reverb.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
In 2011, Depop was founded in Milan, Italy, as a secondhand fashion marketplace that became popular with Gen Z.
- 02
In June 2021, Etsy acquired Depop for about $1.625 billion in cash, betting on the pandemic-era boom in online resale.
- 03
In its third-quarter 2022 results, Etsy took a $1.0 billion aggregate goodwill impairment on Depop and Elo7, reporting a $963.1 million quarterly net loss and effectively admitting it had overpaid.
- 04
In 2026, Etsy sold Depop to eBay for $1.2 billion - $425 million less than it paid - ending the failed 'House of Brands' experiment. No reliable operating loss figure was disclosed, so no loss amount is recorded.